Food security: our daily bread
We are facing a world that needs every bit of ingenuity in order to avoid our food supplies running out. Drought and famine are threatening the agriculture of wide regions of the world, especially the west African desert regions. What is more, only 11% of the planet's land are suitable for agriculture and they are increasingly affected by salination preventing high-yielding harvests.
Australian scientists have now tested a new strain of wheat that will be the answer to growing wheat in saline soils and that could increase yields by 25%. Through traditional cross-breeding of a salt-tolerant gene in a wild wheat ancestor into durum wheat, which is the basis of pasta, noodles etc., the scientists created a new salt-tolerant strain of wheat that has the potential to feed the nine billion people expected on the planet in 2050.
However, this new wheat represents a significant genetic modification and should therefore be treated with caution. We all know and appreciate that the new technologies are constantly trying to keep up our living standard and to work against the horror visions that one day we will run out of food supplies and struggle for live.But doesn't that make things even worse? If we already change everything we can get our hands on, we will not be able to enjoy the goods we still have but always live in the future where we will be subject to starvation. Not to mention the implications on our health if we constantly consume genetically modified food.
I strongly agree, that, regarding the growing population numbers, there must be something done. After all, if one cannot think of another possibility to handle the situation, then breeding genetically modified wheat is a method at least.
For reference see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/12/food-security-our-daily-bread
Nina
We are facing a world that needs every bit of ingenuity it can muster [foc,coh,E]in order to avoid our food supplies running out. Drought and famine are threatening the agriculture of wide regions of the world, especially the West [Sp-caps]* African desert regions. What is more, only 11% of the planet's land is [WF,Gr] suitable for agriculture and it is [s.a.]increasingly affected by salination, [P] preventing high-yielding harvests.
AntwortenLöschenAustralian scientists have now tested a new strain of wheat that will be the answer to growing wheat in saline soils and that could increase yields by 25%. Through traditional cross-breeding of a salt-tolerant gene in a wild wheat ancestor into durum wheat, which is the basis of pasta, noodles etc., the scientists created a new salt-tolerant strain of wheat that has the potential to feed the nine billion people expected on the planet in 2050.
However, this new wheat represents a significant genetic modification and should therefore be treated with caution. We all know and appreciate that the developers of [foc]new technologies are constantly trying to keep up our living standard and to work against the horrific [WF] prospect [W,M,coh] that one day we will run out of food supplies and struggle to [prep] live. But doesn't that make things even worse? If we already change everything we can get our hands on, we will not be able to enjoy the goods we still have, [P] but always live in the future where we will be subject to starvation. Not to mention the implications for [prep] our health if we constantly consume genetically modified food.
I strongly agree, however [foc, coh] that, regarding the growing population numbers, something must be done. [E,coh] After all, if one cannot think of another possibility to handle the situation, then breeding genetically modified wheat is an option [W]at least.
*Not only the names of countries, states, provinces, etc., but also those of established regions are capitalized: e.g. South Asia, Southeast Asia, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa.